After Sutton Stracke proclaimed in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 14 trailer that the city is where happy marriages “go to die,” costar Erika Jayne is weighing in on whether it’s actually true.
“I don’t know if Beverly Hills is where marriage goes to die,” Erika, 53, exclusively quipped to Us Weekly on Wednesday, November 13, while discussing the upcoming season 14. “I think that any time you put a marriage on television in a reality TV show setting, certainly the cracks are going to show. I think I kicked off the single lady streak, and then we passed it to Kyle [Richards], who passed it to Dorit [Kemsley].”
She continued, “It’s terrible when marriages come apart — for whatever reason they come apart. This is not a good thing, meaning that there’s a lot of pain, there’s a lot of hurt feelings. There are children involved here. It’s hard to watch your friends go through things like this.”
Erika filed for divorce from disgraced attorney Tom Girardi in 2020, one month before they were named in a fraud lawsuit. Erika has frequently denied her involvement, and charges were dismissed against her last year. Tom, 85, was found guilty of embezzlement following an August trial. Their divorce is still pending.
Three years later, Us confirmed that Kyle, 55, and husband Mauricio Umansky separated after two decades together. Kyle and Mauricio, 54, have yet to file for divorce but are living in separate homes. They share three daughters; Kyle is also mom to eldest daughter Farrah from a previous relationship.
At the end of RHOBH season 13, Kyle and Mauricio informed their family and friends of the separation, which soon sparked a falling-out between Kyle and Dorit, 48. Around the same time, Dorit and husband Paul “PK” Kemsley, called it quits. They share two young children and also have not yet formally filed for divorce.
Erika, for her part, doesn’t know if there is a correlation between all three current RHOBH stars breaking up or whether the pressure from the limelight is too much.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily the pressure of the show. I think it’s life pressure,” she explained. “I think that it’s a different life when your life is entertainment; it certainly is a different set of conditions. But, you know, these things happen to everyone. Now, do I think it’s 1, 2, 3, 4 of us, like, in a row? [That’s] kind of bizarre, but yeah, s— happens.”
As season 14 — which debuts later this month starting with a supersized premiere — kicks off, Erika and her costars will be navigating the single life and changing dynamics. Costars Sutton, 53, and Garcelle Beauvais, for their parts, are also unattached.
Erika, however, claimed that all the ladies are too “self-obsessed” to date on the show.
“We don’t really see that this season with any of us,” she quipped. “But, you know, what can I say? I am out here living my life, and it would be nice to date and to do fun things.”
The Pretty Mess author further notes that, for her, a potential partner needs to be intelligent and able to hold a “good conversation.” She also agreed to go on a double date with Garcelle, 57.
“Garcelle knows everybody,” Erika said. “She’s not helping us out — and Sutton is on the apps. I’m just now feeling, like, I’m healthy enough to go out and be myself and not crumble. So I mean, we’re single. We’re out here.”
While Erika is embracing the single life, she and Sutton are also “working on” their friendship.
“It’s been building in the right direction,” Erika told Us. “She is sometimes one way, one day and then the other day different. It’s a little instability, I just don’t know. You never know what you’re going to get, which causes me to keep her at arm’s length.”
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills kicks off with a supersized premiere on Bravo Tuesday, November 19, at 8 p.m. ET and streams the next day on Peacock.
